Based on a remarkable true story, The Secrets of Mary Bowser is an inspiring tale of one daring woman’s willingness to sacrifice her own freedom to change the course of history

All her life, Mary has been a slave to the wealthy Van Lew family of Richmond, Virginia. But when Bet, the willful Van Lew daughter, decides to send Mary to Philadelphia to be educated, she must leave her family to seize her freedom.

Life in the North brings new friendships, a courtship, and a far different education than Mary ever expected, one that leads her into the heart of the abolition movement. With the nation edging toward war, she defies Virginia law by returning to Richmond to care for her ailing father—and to fight for emancipation. Posing as a slave in the Confederate White House in order to spy on President Jefferson Davis, Mary deceives even those who are closest to her to aid the Union command.

Just when it seems that all her courageous gambles to end slavery will pay off, Mary discovers that everything comes at a cost—even freedom.

This is the fictional retelling of Mary El’s life, a Virginian slave turned spy. Mary had a photographic memory and posed as an illiterate slave who captured crucial information that was relayed to Union. Sounds fascinating. I’m buying this to read “some day.”

I’ve finally gotten everything I ever wanted: love, freedom, happiness, and, most importantly, Finn. Our love is everything I expected it to be and more. We’ve finally found each other, but the world seems determined to tear us apart. We thought my father was the only obstacle between us, but now it’s the military. With Finn’s departure looming, we’re squeezing in every moment together before we run out of time.

Trying to make every moment count…

Being Carrie’s bodyguard was one thing. Being her boyfriend is another. Every day she’s mine is a day the sun shines in my life. Yet our time together is running out. Her father will never think a tattooed Marine will be good enough, so I’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy of her love. But the road will take me away from the girl who makes me feel alive–the girl I can’t live without.

Time only gets us so far…

A number of indie authors put their books on sale at 99c for the V Day. McLaughlin’s “Out of Time” is the sequel to the Out of Line story which is also 99c. I had heard that the hero, Finn, is kind of off but I’m not sure what that meant (only that readers didn’t respond to him well).

She baited a cop and hooked a killer.
She crosses the line…
Sonya Savonski has something to prove as the only female drift boat captain fishing the deadly depths of the Bering Sea. She stirs the waters, luring a murderer to the surface, and gets the unwanted attention of an Alaska State Trooper.

He tows the line…
‘Fish cops’ don’t mix with fisherman, but if Alaska State Trooper Garrett Hunt can reel Sonya in–before a killer uses her for bait–she could be the catch of his life.

A Peek Inside
“You scared the hell out of me tonight. Seeing Kendrick hit you took years off my life.” He gently brushed the swelling on her cheek. “You need to be more careful with this face.” His fin­gers lingered. “How bad does it hurt?”
“I barely feel it.” She felt something altogether stronger. There was a different heat flaring in his eyes now. It warmed her to the core and had her backing up out of his reach. “You need to leave, Garrett.” She swallowed at the intent in his eyes.
Garrett reached for the pistol she’d tucked into the waistband of her jeans and pulled the gun free. The sharp plinking of the bullets ricocheted in the small room as he unloaded and deposited both the gun and the bullets in the small sink behind her.
“I’m not going anywhere.”

*This book also contains bonus material on Tiffinie Helmer’s upcoming novel SHIVER, the 3rd book in the Romance on the Edge Novels.

A Bering Sea boat captain heroine? That’s something I haven’t read before and for 99c I thought it might be intriguing enough to toss out to the DA readership. The negative reviews knock the hero as unlikeable and some readers had a difficult time seeing the attraction between the couple.

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

This was on sale back in February 2014. I remember reading and thinking it was okay. It’s probably worth the 2.99 but it’s pretty predictable.

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Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty.
You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

2 Comments

I checked on Amazon in the vain hope that this was a DA typo, but no. I don’t care how people on the Internet make this mistake, I’m not going to buy a book so poorly edited as to highlight this howler in the blurb.

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